Rukuhia

"Tieke" the te reo name for the North Island Saddleback belongs to New Zealand's unique wattle bird family, an ancient group which includes the endangered Kokako and extinct Huia. Our own stretch of the Waikato river and the very land where our golf course resides was once a dense native forest teaming with saddlebacks - so much so that local Maori of the time referred to this area as "Tieke". It was considered their home base, their stronghold.